‘Laced’ Mtn. Dew charge dismissed in Roane County

A reckless endangerment charge — stemming from reports that a then 27-year-old Bechtel Jacobs worker spiked a co-worker’s Mountain Dew with a cleaning agent — was dismissed Thursday in Roane County Criminal Court.

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By staff & wire reports

Oakridger - Oak Ridge, TN

By staff & wire reports

Posted Aug. 20, 2013 at 6:24 PM

By staff & wire reports
Posted Aug. 20, 2013 at 6:24 PM

A reckless endangerment charge — stemming from reports that a then 27-year-old Bechtel Jacobs worker spiked a co-worker’s Mountain Dew with a cleaning agent — was dismissed Thursday in Roane County Criminal Court.

LaFollette resident Ashley Nicole Caroll, now 29, was arrested in the summer of 2011 in connection with the alleged poisoning, which reportedly occurred at the East Tennessee Technology Park, formerly known as the K-25 Site. Charges followed an investigation by the Oak Ridge Police Department, after a woman became sick and had to be placed on short-term disability.

The two women worked together as janitors at ETTP for U.S. Department of Energy subcontractor Bechtel Jacobs. However, prosecutor Bill Reedy and Carroll’s attorney John McFarland said there

simply was no proof that Carroll had tried to poison Cheryl Lofton.

Reedy said there was no evidence of anything toxic in Lofton’s system after the incident, and her doctor said there were other medical explanations for her symptoms. Also, the prosecutor said, no sample of the allegedly tainted drink was kept during the investigation.

Though the investigating officer said Carroll made a statement in front of others about putting eye drops “inside the victim’s drink,” Ashley Carroll said: “That was hearsay. Those words never did come out of my mouth.”

“It’s a shame that people can make false allegations based on no evidence and have no remorse,” Carroll said Thursday. Her mother, Teresa Carroll, said it cost the family some $10,000 in legal fees to fight the charge.

“We’ve been in two years of hell and aggravation over an incident where there was no evidence,” Teresa Carroll reportedly stated.

The alleged incident apparently took place on June 17, 2011. According to an early story published in The Oak Ridger, Carroll was interviewed by an Oak Ridge detective — and denied putting any chemical inside the victim’s drink — on June 28, 2011.